


Monochrome

by Miles_Rose



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dark, I am oddly having fun with making tags, Light Angst, Ruby-centric, V4-6 do not occur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-19 14:44:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20325562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miles_Rose/pseuds/Miles_Rose
Summary: Beacon's Fall affected everything very badly in what may be considered no time. The Kingdoms fell prey to Grimm, and no matter what man and Faunus tried, they were not able to drive away the creatures of darkness. Now, Grimm roam Remnant freely, and all that's left of man and Faunus are, well, remnants slowly fading into extinction.Amidst all that, however, Ruby Rose travels the continent of Sanus in the fading hopes of being able to find her family—her Team.





	Monochrome

**Author's Note:**

> First time using Ao3 to post stuff :D
> 
> Anyways this oneshot is in an AU where V3 happened a little bit differently, so V4-6 do not occur here.
> 
> Disclaimer: RWBY does not belong to me.

It’s already late into the midnight hour when Ruby finally decides to stop walking and take a rest from travelling through the woods that she’s been in for a few days already.

Laying Crescent Rose against the trunk of a nearby tree, she lets herself sit upon a tree stump close to where she laid her weapon. Her once lively and shining silver eyes now gaze dully at the soles of her boots, her body shivering slightly from the cold night air.

She raises a hand to look at it, and does not wince when she sees how worn out her gloves are, or how bruised her hand is from constantly gripping Crescent Rose all the time. At some point of her journey, she had lost the harness that kept her gun-scythe attached to the back of her belt, and didn’t bother to look for an alternative.

She stares at her hand for quite a while, her mind slowly wandering into memories of the past…

Memories of a white-haired girl arguing with her about which direction to take in a forest, scenes of meeting a black-haired Cat Faunus in a ballroom full of sleeping bags and candlelight, recollections of a young woman with blonde hair screaming her name as she recklessly charged into battling a large Nevermore—

The loud screech of a Nevermore suddenly rings into her ears, and Ruby immediately whips her head up into looking at the black starless sky. She can’t see anything, sure, but she can hear the ominous flapping of wings nearby.

The redhead keeps her body still, and unconsciously holds her breath until the flying Creature of Grimm seemingly passes by. Shivers run down her back as she listens for the Nevermore’s screech and sounds of flapping wings in the dark.

After a few minutes pass, she lets out a relieved sigh, having heard only the sound of chirping crickets and the hooting of a far-away owl. There is no sign of a nearby Nevermore.

“You dunce,” Ruby whispers to herself in a mockingly obnoxious tone. “Of course there aren’t any Grimm here. Well, at least not yet, so hush.”

She glumly sighs and hugs her knees together, hoping to catch a quick nap before setting out again. Her head slowly nods off, and she welcomes Morpheus within seconds.

_She doesn’t dream about anything._

* * *

It’s late in the morning when Ruby wakes up. There is no sun in the sky, which is only filled with dark grey clouds that give off a scary vibe everywhere. Not like she cares about it though.

She doesn’t have anything on her to munch on and give her energy, nor any water to drink whenever she gets parched. She only swallows her saliva and marches on, Crescent Rose in hand as she traverses the woods once more.

Despite the entire continent having fallen to the clutches of the Grimm, Ruby doesn’t encounter much of the dark creatures. Ironic, because her nearly apathetic state would be attracting Grimm by the hundreds now.

Well, she doesn’t know why, and she doesn’t care at all. Besides, if any would approach her, she would have disposed of them within seconds.

There is nothing really nice or even special to look at while she wanders. Everything around her—whether it’s the sky, the ground, the trees, the far-off mountains—is all grey and dull.

Even Crescent Rose looks dull, despite all the red paint she splashed on it when she created the weapon. She herself is covered in black and dark red (which seems like black now, so there’s no difference), making her feel like she’s part of the colorless landscape…

_A part of this monochromatic world._

* * *

She finds a clear stream in the middle of the forest after hours of walking. It’s just calmly rushing through its course, making the usual sounds a stream should be making. Somehow, Ruby appreciates those sounds more than she should.

After placing Crescent Rose on the ground, she kneels beside the stream and splashes some water on her face. The cool feeling of the liquid is pleasant, and for the first time in days (or was it months? She barely knows now), Ruby grins and splashes some more of the water onto her features.

Post-washing her face, Ruby gazes into the water to look at herself. She isn’t surprised by what she sees. Her hair looks messier and tangled than before this all happened, a few bruises decorate her chin and cheeks, and she has light eyebags underneath her silver eyes.

_Huh_, she thinks. _I thought I’d have darker eyebags than this._

She doesn’t mind though. She takes a rest by that stream, leaning against a nearby tree trunk and looking up at the grey sky as she listens to the sound of rushing water.

_She could stay here forever, but she has to get up soon._

* * *

She does leave the stream after some time, though not without one more long drink of water. It’s just that when she leaves, there’s this homesick feeling inside her that longs to go back and stay there for as long as she wants.

She hasn’t really felt anything in a long time.

But no matter what she feels, she knows that she doesn’t have a home anymore.

Not after Beacon fell, not after Team RWBY got separated in the chaos of the Fall, and definitely not after Vale—and the other three Kingdoms—succumbed to anarchy and Grimm overran the Kingdom.

Not after—

“Stop, stop, stop!” Ruby hisses to herself when her thoughts about losing her home and family go too far. She cannot think about those things now.

But still she is.

Memories of her coming home without Yang come into mind, as well as memories of Grimm attacking the house and her dad giving her enough time to escape while he fought off the Grimm with her uncle, memories of running off into the town with Crescent Rose in hand, and memories of stowing away in the last ship out of Patch and realizing what she had done by leaving the only family she only had—

She drops Crescent Rose unceremonially onto the ground and clutches fistfuls of her hair tightly, rasping, “No, no, no—S-Stop it!”

Her knees give in and she collapses onto the short grey grassy ground, babbling the same pleas all over again like an insane person.

_I should have died there._

“N-No! D-Dad and Uncle Qrow wanted me to live!”

_I have no one else left._

“That’s not true! I have Weiss! Blake! Yang!”

_They’re dead already. I know it._

“Shut up, mind! Just shut up!”

_Why am I here anyways?_

“I’m… I’m here… I’m here because…”

Ruby gasps for breath, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She can hear voices… Voices of people she once knew and loved.

_“Ruby, I just wanted to let you know… That I’ll be the best teammate you’ll ever have…”_

_“C’mon Ruby. You gotta break out of your shell. I’m not always gonna be around, y’know.”_

_“That’s quite a fantastic vision. Sadly, the world isn’t what you and I thought it seemed.”_

_“I’m just glad that my daughter is okay.”_

_“Hey kiddo. You’ll be all right, ‘kay?”_

_“Y-You guys will be okay out there, right?”_

_“Break their legs, guys!”_

_“I wish you skill… Ruby.”_

_“Ruby… Mommy loves you, no matter what.”_

The last words of her mother before she left on that fateful mission ring in Ruby’s ears. The tears slide down her bruised cheeks effortlessly, stinging her ears as she tries to wipe them away with her hand.

How long has it been since she last thought about the people she cared about?

Suddenly, she finds an answer. An answer to her mind’s challenging question. An answer that fills her with hope when she thinks about it.

_“I’m here… I’m here to look for my Team. They’re alive. I just know it.”_

* * *

A few days later, Ruby finds herself extremely exhausted and sitting on another of those tree stumps. She hasn’t found her way out of the woods yet, but she’s not giving up now.

Compared to the past days, the sun manages to show its face through the dark clouds for once today. The redhead guesses that it’s almost 3 o’clock in the afternoon, with the light somewhat dimming and brightening alternatively throughout the day. It’s a nice change for a start.

A nice change since she realized what she’s supposed to be doing.

Ruby sighs heavily and takes a look at her hand. It’s still the same old wounded hand she looked at a few night back, but there’s something that makes her feel like as if it’s looking different this time.

As if she can hold on to her hopes with just this hand, and never, ever let go.

_What am I hoping for, exactly?_

The thought comes to her all of a sudden, but she doesn’t have to ponder long and hard about it. She knows what she’s hoping for.

She’s hoping for a chance to see her family again. Her Team. Weiss. Blake. Yang. Maybe she will not only find them, maybe she’ll find even Team JNPR, CVFY, and—and…

She doesn’t realize immediately that tears are spilling from her eyes again, that she’s fixed her gaze upon her hand for the third time in a while. When she does, she only chuckles softly and wipes away her tears.

“Silly me,” She says. “Stop crying. It won’t do anything at all.”

After a short rest, she gets up and grabs Crescent Rose, continuing her trek towards the ends of the forest.

_She won’t give up. Not yet._

* * *

When Ruby finally makes it out of the woods, she is greeted by a barren land filled with short, brown grass.

The sky above her isn’t covered by dark, grey clouds anymore, and she can see the blue canvas with white clouds rolling by like any normal day. The sun is beginning to set, but Ruby knows it won’t stop her journey.

The thrill of making it out of the forest energizes her, and she speeds off into the grasslands with her Semblance, leaving a trail of red petals behind her. She laughs and screams with happiness, enjoying the gust of wind blowing against her face.

After some time of running around the grassland, she skids to a stop, breathless, and yet still excited. Her eyes don’t give off a dull vibe, but have returned to their original, lively state as she looks up at the sky with a smile…

And reaches out to the vast, sky-blue canvas with a hand.

Ruby can only giggle at what she’s doing, but she knows deep inside that it means something to her.

* * *

_Yet, sunny and bright days can only last for long._

It’s grey, cold, and dreary as Ruby approaches the ruins of the Kingdom of Vale. She tightens her grip on Crescent Rose and inadvertently bites on her lower lip a bit too harshly when she spots some Beowolves strolling around the city.

It’s not that fear has suddenly gripped her heart, but the fact that she has just realized that the city of Vale has just become like Mountain Glenn: desolate, abandoned, and Grimm-infested.

“No use looking for the others here,” Ruby mumbles as she prepares herself for a fight, and charges at the enemy.

When she’s finished slicing down a couple of Grimm in her path, the redhead makes her way to Beacon Academy. Unfortunately, she can’t reach the actual school, and so makes do with viewing the Academy’s ruins from afar.

Seeing Beacon in all its ruined glory keeps Ruby quiet for a while, pondering on the things she could have done in order to save the school. It had been her fault for not being in town when the Academy fell, not being there to help lead her teammates and the others to safety—

_Aw, not again. I’m done pitying myself. I’m done blaming myself for all this._

Ruby manages to blink away the guilty tears from her eyes and takes a deep breath before exhaling.

“There’s no use in dwelling in the past,” She whispers to herself. “Just move on and hope that the others are okay.”

After one more longing look at what is left of the school, Ruby makes another long journey to another desolate city she had once thought she’d never go back to: Mountain Glenn.

Well, it’s better to check over there for her friends than never at all.

* * *

_Nothing._

_Nothing at all._

Ruby leaves the longtime ruined city in the mountains with a heavy heart. She had found nothing—no sign of her friends, no sign of life, save for Grimm, if you can even call them alive. It’s as if she’s the last person alive on Remnant.

The redhead doesn’t bother to check the subterranean city of Mountain Glenn though. She feels as if she already knows that she won’t find them there.

_Where were they? Where could they be?_

That thought begins to dominate her mind once it forms. Fear, worry, and despair begin to bite at her once more. The tears sting her eyes, and when they fall, Ruby runs. She runs away from the city and into the grasslands, with no destination in mind.

She can’t stop the sobbing, nor can’t she prevent herself from remembering memories long old.

_ **It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts—** _

Like a lost child searching for her parents in a crowd of people, Ruby runs, whipping her head left and right, desperately hoping that while she runs and runs, she might find them.

_ **“Yang!”** _

_ _

_ **“Weiss!”** _

_ _

_ **“Blake!”** _

She keeps on sobbing, calling out their names, but she doesn’t hear anything other than the rushing wind and her croaking voice.

She calls some more names, hoping that someone would hear her and respond, call her name, tell her that she’s not alone, because she doesn’t want to be alone.

_ _

_ **“Jaune!”** _

_ _

_ **“Pyrrha!”** _

_ _

_ **“Nora!”** _

_ _

_ **“Ren!”** _

No one responds, and soon Ruby finds herself exhausted from running, her lungs begging for air after having run a long way and having cried so hard.

The tears keep coming as she pants heavily for oxygen. Her nose begins to clog, and her head starts to hurt.

She sniffles, wiping at her nose with a sleeve, and decides to find a place to rest and cry her heart out.

* * *

She discovers a tree with some shade after a while, and lays Crescent Rose against the trunk before leaning against the wood.

She sits down, closes her eyes tightly, and continues sobbing, not caring if she’s going to attract more Grimm. She needs to let it all out.

Ruby wonders when was the last she had ever cried this hard. She doesn’t count her breakdown a few days back, but soon she remembers when.

The day her mother had left.

She can still remember every detail clearly. Her mother, walking out of the house with a smile, and Ruby had been crying nonstop, begging her to stay by holding onto her white cloak like there was no tomorrow. Her mother had managed to calm her down, tell her everything would be okay, that she had Yang and Dad, and Uncle and Auntie, and that—

_“Mommy loves you, no matter what.”_

Ruby can still feel that last hug that her mother gave before she had left.

She can still feel the tears that had spilled from her eyes when she and her family had made their first visit to the grave. The tears that had fallen down her cheeks upon finally realizing that her mother was never coming back. The tears that hardened her resolve to continue what her mother had left unfinished.

She hears a voice. A soft, gentle, concerned voice. A voice that Ruby finds familiar, but cannot figure out whom it belongs to.

_“Ruby… I’m here…”_

She weakly opens her eyes. White light almost blinds her, but she can make out the figure in front of her. A woman smiles gently at her, silver-eyes shining with concern as she stretches out a hand for Ruby to grasp.

_M-Mom…?_

Ruby slowly raises her hand, straining to reach her mother’s own. “I… I thought I lost you…” She croaks, a tear slipping down her bruised cheek.

_“It’s okay, Ruby. Everything will be fine now.”_

“Y-Yeah…”

_“Come with me, darling. It’s time.”_

That’s when Ruby hesitates. Her hand stills and she can only gaze at her mother’s worried expression.

_Am I going to die?_

Memories flash through her mind and Ruby recalls her resolve. She smiles sadly at her mother, lowering her hand.

“I… I can’t go now. I still have something to do.”

She doesn’t know if her mother looks sad or proud of her. But Summer Rose only smiles and says, “Then do it.”

As Ruby watches, her mother fades away, and the redhead can hear Summer whisper, “I love you, Ruby.”

A voice calls Ruby once more, and she slowly opens her eyes to see someone else in front of her.

* * *

** _“Ruby? Ruby!”_ **

Another familiar voice brings Ruby out of her dream. She groggily opens her eyes to see….

Bluish-white hair, a small vertical scar decorating the left eye, pale blue eyes, and a concerned look are what Ruby first registers in her mind before she smiles sleepily at the girl before her.

The girl stretches out a hand and asks, “Are you all right, Ruby?”

Ruby chuckles softly and raises a hand to grasp Weiss Schnee’s own, slowly replying with, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

_Well, whaddya know, I’m just glad to know you’re okay._

* * *

Ruby grins widely at her new companion, who only rolls her eyes. “Oh, please you dunce, wipe that grin off your face or so help me,” Weiss snorts, but there’s a smile on her features too.

“You missed me. A lot.”

“Shut up. I think I’m starting to regret having traveled a long way from Atlas just to look for you and the others.”

The redhead snickers as the two of them walk beside each other. “I don’t think so.”

“Hush, you.” Weiss says, before she gives Ruby a curious glance. “Where to now, Leader?”

“Anywhere, I guess,” Ruby replies. “We still have two more teammates to track down.”

“Well, then, lead the way, Ruby.”

The sun sets beautifully over the horizon, and the early night sky welcomes the shining stars as Ruby and Weiss set off on their journey, ready for whatever may lie ahead of them.

**Author's Note:**

> So basically this oneshot was inspired by the RWBY Kuroshiro artworks made by Anonamos701.
> 
> Last year, someone in a RWBY community came upon several of the artworks and posted a request about having a story made based on the artworks he found. This oneshot eventually became the reason that I made a new friend in the requester :3
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading. I don't know how many of you will enjoy this, so just comment if you wanna say stuff. Thanks a lot.


End file.
